I have told this story so many times that I can't tell you anymore how much is fact and what is conjured. However, the one thing I'm sure of is that, while Steve was in the front seat with Dr. King, I was in the back seat (along with a third student whom I can't remember) with Mrs. King. And my impression of Dr. King was that he was exhausted and that he slept much of the way to and from Logan Airport, whereas I was captivated by Coretta. It is hard to imagine for someone who didn't live through those days, but to be sitting in such close proximity to such a beautiful, vibrant, and yes, sexy black woman was almost an overwhelming experience for this "whitebread" kid from one of the most segregated American cities, St. Louis.
To be sure, that memory has stuck with me over these almost 50 years. And, truly, as my place on the political spectrum has moved from pretty far right at that time to pretty far left at present, I have come to regret not only my lack of attentiveness to the great man in the front seat and to his speech that evening, but also that fact that it took me so many years to understand the powerful message that he delivered just by his presence at a northern, all-white campus in those days when he was exhausted from the marches, the arrests, and the grueling schedule of speeches he needed to make to keep the funds flowing into the movement.
One other thing. Please don't leave out the role of Rev. Casey, the moderator of The Cross and Scroll Society. How far ahead of this time Fr. Casey was, including this man, who many of our parents were calling a Commie or a pinko, to join the Robert Frosts and Harrison Salisburys on that year's lecture roster.
I just wish I had Steve's memory of the speech, but I wouldn't trade my boyish infatuation with the beautiful woman in the back seat.
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